"How Did I Get Where I Am Today" - Emerging Professionals Event

It takes an entrepreneur to truly understand one. That is why CFO Alliance founder Brooke Evans is one of the most sought-after financial executives in the industry. Brooke’s unique brand of creativity, passion and practicality, backed by years of “Big 4” training and senior-level corporate experience, serve as the foundation for the CFO Alliance’s mission to help businesses and people prosper.

Brooke has more than 20 years of progressive financial management experience. She founded CFO Alliance in 2008, and since then, has grown the company significantly, serving more than 150 clients. Recently, CFO Alliance was named #1388 on the 2017 Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing companies in the country and #11 on the Seminole 100 list of fastest-growing businesses owned by Florida State University alumni.

Before CFO Alliance, Brooke served as CFO of a $200 million company in the construction industry. She also spent ten years in various leadership roles at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche, where she served a portfolio of audit clients, including privately held start-up companies and multi-national Fortune 500 enterprises. Brooke began her career in public accounting after graduating from Florida State University and obtaining her CPA license.

Brooke has always been driven by a desire to help others around her succeed. This desire led her to pursue a speaking career, allowing her to connect with a larger audience, sharing advice and providing guidance to fellow entrepreneurs and financial executives. In recognition of her significant leadership contributions, Deloitte selected her to be one of 20 participants in an elite fellowship program honoring leaders who reflect the qualities of intelligence, commitment, integrity, service and leadership.

Deeply committed to the Tampa community and serving others, Brooke serves a variety of organizations, including the Florida Funders Investment Committee, ACG Tampa Bay’s Board of Directors, and previously as the Chairperson of Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF) Foundation’s Tech Jam and Deloitte & Touche’s Tampa United Way Campaign.

When she’s not working, Brooke enjoys spending time with her husband, son and daughter out and about in Tampa, at the beach, and traveling as often as possible. She is also an avid reader and a fan of inspirational books, including her most recent read, the Power of Awareness by Neville Goddard.

Randy Lay is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of GEO. He joined GEO in December 2017. Prior to his involvement with GEO, Mr. Lay has held senior executive and financial positions at major corporations throughout his career, including Xerox and United Technologies, where he served as Director of Financial Planning for UTC’s Commercial and Industrial businesses. Mr. Lay also served as the Executive Vice President and CFO of International Specialty Products, a multinational specialty chemical company. He has also held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Access Global Holdings, a competitive telecommunications provider based in Chicago. Most recently, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Lazydays RV, which operates the largest RV dealership in the world in Tampa, Florida. Mr. Lay received a B.A. in Political Science and an M.B.A. from Boston University.

Mark’s main focus at Mangrove is transaction execution. Prior to joining Mangrove, Mark was an M&A and corporate transactional attorney for over twelve years. During his tenure as a deal lawyer, Mark worked extensively with private equity funds and their portfolio companies in connection with investment, M&A and financing transactions. Mark also frequently worked with entrepreneurs and middle market businesses in a wide range of corporate transactions, including investments by financial and strategic partners and liquidity events. Mark no longer practices law, but he continues to draw from this prior experience in his efforts at Mangrove. Mark holds a JD from American University, Washington College of Law (summa cum laude) and a BA from Bucknell University.